His opinion of Lucy, as she had said,
was that she was a pretty, but frivolous, plaything, and it showed
upon his face as he asked the question he did, watching Anna furtively
as Fanny replied:
"Oh, yes, he is certainly smitten, and I must say I never saw Lucy so
thoroughly in earnest. Why, she really seems to enjoy traveling all
over Christendom to find the hovels and huts, though she is mortally
afraid of the smallpox, and always carries with her a bit of chloride
of lime as a disinfecting agent. I am sure she ought to win the
parson. And so you know him, do you?"
"Yes; we were in college together, and I esteem him so highly that,
had I a sister, there is no man living to whom I would so readily give
her as to him."
He was looking now at Anna, whose face was very pale, and who pressed
a rose she held so tightly that the sharp thorns pierced her flesh,
and a drop of blood stained the whiteness of her hand.
"See, you have hurt yourself," Mr. Hastings said. "Come to the water
pitcher and wash the stain away."
She went with him mechanically, and let him hold her hand in his
while he wiped off the blood with his own handkerchief, treating her
with a tenderness for which he could hardly account himself.
Pages:
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76